(I say this with acknowledgement, knowing full well that I have been guilty of being this person.
*edit - I sort of relayed some frustrations I face when I run into a certain type of person, and I took it out on Hipsters. Sorry if there were any hurt feelings. I shouldn't generalize. I get really upset with judgmental people.)
Anyways.
I will be upfront and say it right here that I like One Direction.
I am not embarrassed about it. They're really cute lads that are like these puppies climbing over each other, and it was their sincere love for each other that caught my fancy before their music. They're precious. I started getting into them just as their 2nd cd came out, and I really really like it. It's upbeat, and just...fun.
What I didn't realize at the time is that they were an outlet for me...I was really stressed with 15 credits and two jobs and other various responsibilities. I was completely overwhelmed. But One Direction's music was on repeat for maybe a month, helping me through it.
A lot of people (especially in my family) have teased me about it; comparing me to a 12 year old girl. (I have a-whole-nother rant about why teenage girls are universally hated, but that's for a different post.) I don't know if telling them the reasons why 1D has been weirdly therapeutic for me would cause them relent.
I'm tired of elitism. What a good way to not only make someone an "other", but to belittle them for things that make them happy. However, this doesn't exclude your interests from being problematic (sometimes). If watching Disney movies, or wearing footie jim-jams to bed is a way for you to stay mentally happy, then own it.
Reject those who wish to degrade you, because you don't need that influence in your life. Maybe doing something "uncool" is what you do to get through the mundane or horrible things in life, to keep your soul from dying a little bit each day. Wear it proudly and know that nothing can do anything to you. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" and all that awesome jazz.
(Quote brought to you by Pushing Daisies.)
Like most form of bullying, we do this to make ourselves feel better about the weird crap we do. Often, there's this comparison - "well at least I don't do that!"
If you made a quidditch league at your school, if you want to quit your job as a Hollywood screenwriter and move to Paris to take up with Marion Cotillard, if you collect LOTR figures,
this in no way means that you can't or don't have an appreciation for the finer things in life.
I like One Direction, but I also am nerdy for Christopher Nolan movies. Beyonce is a powerhouse lady, but I believe that Victor Hugo was one of the greatest people to have ever lived and I hope that he is seated on the right-right hand of God. Chopin is a genius, but so is J.K. Rowling. And sometimes I fall asleep to Hey Arnold! but you know what? That show was great when I was nine, and it's still great now.
All I ask is that we be kinder to each other when it comes to the things that makes us happy. We need to stop looking down on each other for really stupid, inconsequential reasons.
I'm sorry it took me 21 years to understand, but now I don't care ~what I am~ and I'm just gonna go on doing my thing. Nothing can do anything to me.
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